Discussion
One for me I think! Very happy, can't fault it. Here's some of the threads.
This was my first post - read all the way down for my experiences
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=63&h=&t=15107
Tubi trial
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=63&h=&t=37339
Similar question
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=63&h=&t=37051
This was my first post - read all the way down for my experiences
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=63&h=&t=15107
Tubi trial
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=63&h=&t=37339
Similar question
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=63&h=&t=37051
Dear Guys,
I am currently considering getting a 3200 GT, but older and cheaper than the ones you describe. It would be a 99 reg, about 27-9k. They sound and look great, but am concerned about a few things. Insurance and servicing, do you have any info on these, especially servicing on a car that will be out of manuf. warranty?
I had to give up a Porsche Box recently due to it giving me a bad back as I suffer in this department - are the seats comfy? Am in a CLK cab at the moment which is very comfy.
My less than car enthusiast wife would have to drive it as well - how easy is it?
Having had Porsche, she found that extremely easy, but a TVR Chim was not so welcome!
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks
Stig
I am currently considering getting a 3200 GT, but older and cheaper than the ones you describe. It would be a 99 reg, about 27-9k. They sound and look great, but am concerned about a few things. Insurance and servicing, do you have any info on these, especially servicing on a car that will be out of manuf. warranty?
I had to give up a Porsche Box recently due to it giving me a bad back as I suffer in this department - are the seats comfy? Am in a CLK cab at the moment which is very comfy.
My less than car enthusiast wife would have to drive it as well - how easy is it?
Having had Porsche, she found that extremely easy, but a TVR Chim was not so welcome!
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks
Stig
Chris,
I would be interested to hear your comparisons with the Cerbera as you've had both. My oldest son is just starting to complain about the lack of space in the back of the Cerbera, and if there is more room in the 3200 then I would seriously consider moving to one in the future. As well as the space, how does the build quality, insurance, and servicing compare between the two?
Cheers,
Neil
I would be interested to hear your comparisons with the Cerbera as you've had both. My oldest son is just starting to complain about the lack of space in the back of the Cerbera, and if there is more room in the 3200 then I would seriously consider moving to one in the future. As well as the space, how does the build quality, insurance, and servicing compare between the two?
Cheers,
Neil
Stig
I just renewed my insurance using the BMW website - £1500, 38, no points/claims, West London, parked on the drive. Best deal I could get by a long way. There isn't a lot of information available about the cost of servicing after the fixed price servicing has run out. I expect you'll have to budget for about £1200 every 12000 miles. Could be less could be more - probably similar to an 8 cylinder Ferrari. You could reduce the cost by using a specialist like Verdi. All Ferrari/Maserati parts are expensive. You can get extended warranties - a gamble like all insurance.
I find the 3200 comfortable but would like the clutch to be closer than the brake/throttle - could be my legs!
Your wife will not have a problem driving it. The Auto's easy, the manual hard (male or female) but more sporty and rewarding. If you turn the traction control off it's a whole other story
Neil
Loads of room in the back. Only a problem if the person in the front needs the seat all the way back or the rear passenger is very tall. Four average sized adults would be comfortable for an hour or so. The rear is very comfortable and the last 10 year old in mine fell asleep.
I just renewed my insurance using the BMW website - £1500, 38, no points/claims, West London, parked on the drive. Best deal I could get by a long way. There isn't a lot of information available about the cost of servicing after the fixed price servicing has run out. I expect you'll have to budget for about £1200 every 12000 miles. Could be less could be more - probably similar to an 8 cylinder Ferrari. You could reduce the cost by using a specialist like Verdi. All Ferrari/Maserati parts are expensive. You can get extended warranties - a gamble like all insurance.
I find the 3200 comfortable but would like the clutch to be closer than the brake/throttle - could be my legs!
Your wife will not have a problem driving it. The Auto's easy, the manual hard (male or female) but more sporty and rewarding. If you turn the traction control off it's a whole other story
Neil
Loads of room in the back. Only a problem if the person in the front needs the seat all the way back or the rear passenger is very tall. Four average sized adults would be comfortable for an hour or so. The rear is very comfortable and the last 10 year old in mine fell asleep.
Hi rocket,
Theres loads more room in the back. It's a GT not a Race car, so easy to live with. It is as fast as a speed six. Steering feels a bit more removed. Brakes are dull untill pressed hard, then they do the biz. Just a top car, but mines a year old. The build quality is in the german league. Personally, i'd have a 4.5 for track n fun and the Masser to live with. Servicing is every 12,000 and cost about the same. Insurance is £200 more but thats balanced out by servicing costs and they don't drink oil either like it's petrol!.
Theres loads more room in the back. It's a GT not a Race car, so easy to live with. It is as fast as a speed six. Steering feels a bit more removed. Brakes are dull untill pressed hard, then they do the biz. Just a top car, but mines a year old. The build quality is in the german league. Personally, i'd have a 4.5 for track n fun and the Masser to live with. Servicing is every 12,000 and cost about the same. Insurance is £200 more but thats balanced out by servicing costs and they don't drink oil either like it's petrol!.
I never have a problem. It attracts more attention than I thought it would (more than a red Griffith) but it's all very positive. I'm quite careful to park it somewhere with plenty of space to avoid scrapes from careless drivers but people will let you out of turnings and won't shout 'rich *****' at you.
I bought a two year old 3200GT nearly two years ago and have had a great deal of fun. It is far easier to drive than many people suggest, especially with all the 'campaigns' done.
I bought from a dealer so got a warranty. I renewed this after a year for £850 and it will save you money. Apart from servicing and tyres I have been spending about £500 pa at the dealer's.
The 3 year service is price capped at £600 and includes the belts. I will find out soon how much normal servicing costs with the 4th service due in a couple of months.
After 7k miles the rear tyres will be replaced soon but the fronts are fine. However, I will not go below about 4mm.
The cars do go wrong and you should reckon on a visit to the dealership every three months or so but I have had similar track records with German cars. For example, cylinder head gaskets going on a 328i coupe after 10k miles, both turbos and exhaust manifolds going under warranty on a 2.7 S4 Avant, exhaust manifolds going on an SL500 etc. Of my other two current cars the new shape S4 Avant is in the dealer's as they are trying to work out why it is losing power and the roof on my new shape CLK 500 cab took four attempts to close today! Maseratis' get a bad press, but my experience of German cars is little better.
Yes, buy a 3200GT but buy the warranty. Remember that if the cylinder head gaskets go (as mine did) it is 30+ hours labour.
I bought from a dealer so got a warranty. I renewed this after a year for £850 and it will save you money. Apart from servicing and tyres I have been spending about £500 pa at the dealer's.
The 3 year service is price capped at £600 and includes the belts. I will find out soon how much normal servicing costs with the 4th service due in a couple of months.
After 7k miles the rear tyres will be replaced soon but the fronts are fine. However, I will not go below about 4mm.
The cars do go wrong and you should reckon on a visit to the dealership every three months or so but I have had similar track records with German cars. For example, cylinder head gaskets going on a 328i coupe after 10k miles, both turbos and exhaust manifolds going under warranty on a 2.7 S4 Avant, exhaust manifolds going on an SL500 etc. Of my other two current cars the new shape S4 Avant is in the dealer's as they are trying to work out why it is losing power and the roof on my new shape CLK 500 cab took four attempts to close today! Maseratis' get a bad press, but my experience of German cars is little better.
Yes, buy a 3200GT but buy the warranty. Remember that if the cylinder head gaskets go (as mine did) it is 30+ hours labour.
Andrew, please remember to post the result of your first "not fixed price" service.
Also, how is the extended warranty worded? My previous TVR warranty was almost useless as the cylinder head problem you mentioned would have been termed "wear & tear" and therefore not covered.
Perhaps I've been lucky but absoultely nothing has gone wrong with my car in the last year (leaning on a wooden desk). It's had one service and one visit to replace poor quality trim under warranty.
Also, how is the extended warranty worded? My previous TVR warranty was almost useless as the cylinder head problem you mentioned would have been termed "wear & tear" and therefore not covered.
Perhaps I've been lucky but absoultely nothing has gone wrong with my car in the last year (leaning on a wooden desk). It's had one service and one visit to replace poor quality trim under warranty.
Mine's got a beige leather interior with a tan coloured suede type head liner so it doesn't feel 'closed in'.
Auto's more like a GT and robs the car of some performance. Manual (mine) more sporty but more challenging to drive.
The boot's a good size - plenty for a couple for a couple of weeks. Also, rear seats for overflow.
I doubt you'll regret it. Edited to say 'but I haven't driven a 348!'. I'm in Chiswick if you want a proper chat.
>> Edited by AlexHancock on Tuesday 29th July 13:38
Auto's more like a GT and robs the car of some performance. Manual (mine) more sporty but more challenging to drive.
The boot's a good size - plenty for a couple for a couple of weeks. Also, rear seats for overflow.
I doubt you'll regret it. Edited to say 'but I haven't driven a 348!'. I'm in Chiswick if you want a proper chat.
>> Edited by AlexHancock on Tuesday 29th July 13:38
Alex, not sure how the Trident warranty works as the cylinder heads went just after I bought the car and the supplying dealer fixed them.
Over 1 year and 9 months I have had the following go wrong and replaced by the supplying dealer/warranty co. on a car starting at 2 years old:
-cylinder heads replaced
-1 damper replaced
-hand brake ratchet replaced
-three or so (I lost count!) sensors replaced
-all 'campaigns' done. I think the last was issued in 7/02
I have paid for myself:
-turbo hoses perished - twice
-loose window fixed
-coolant loss - pipe to heater matrix perished
-new hand brake shoes
-two sets of new wipers
-one service (will let you know the cost of the next, uncapped, four year old one is)
-alloys refurbished
'Engine check' light off at the moment - car now sorted (fingers crossed!!).
Still love the car but how long will the exhaust, turbos, brakes and clutch last? Mileage currently 23k...am I ok for a while??
Over 1 year and 9 months I have had the following go wrong and replaced by the supplying dealer/warranty co. on a car starting at 2 years old:
-cylinder heads replaced
-1 damper replaced
-hand brake ratchet replaced
-three or so (I lost count!) sensors replaced
-all 'campaigns' done. I think the last was issued in 7/02
I have paid for myself:
-turbo hoses perished - twice
-loose window fixed
-coolant loss - pipe to heater matrix perished
-new hand brake shoes
-two sets of new wipers
-one service (will let you know the cost of the next, uncapped, four year old one is)
-alloys refurbished
'Engine check' light off at the moment - car now sorted (fingers crossed!!).
Still love the car but how long will the exhaust, turbos, brakes and clutch last? Mileage currently 23k...am I ok for a while??
Sounds like you've been unlucky Andrew. I haven't heard of any other 3200 having so many problems - Friday car? I've had four TVRs - 3 great, 1 crap. The crap one put me off and cost me £20K over two years in maintenance alone - 2 engine rebuilds that TVR wouldn't pay for even though the 2nd happended 6 weeks after they first rebuilt it and was apparently caused by over torqued cylinder head bolts. I should've got out of the car as soon as I could and maybe I'd still be a TVR fan today. Perhaps you should try and sell yours and, if you can, pick up another. You shouldn't lose out but should end up with a better car.
Either way, keep us informed and I'll do the same.
Cheers
Alex
Either way, keep us informed and I'll do the same.
Cheers
Alex
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